Mads Mikkelsen to Play Hannibal Lecter in NBC’s HANNIBAL

Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) is one of those “I think I recognize that guy from something …” actors who may finally get his due in primetime. NBC and writer-producer Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies) have tapped the Danish star for the lead role in his upcoming series Hannibal.

Mikkelsen likely has just the right amount of familiarity and mystery to him to be a great find for the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, portrayed in his early days as a renowned psychiatrist (but already a monstrous killer, of course). The perennially voted “sexiest man in Denmark” should also be able to channel the necessary seductive charm that would compliment Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning role (in fact, he’s following Hopkins in the Thor franchise, too, having recently entered talks to take on a villainous role in Thor 2). Hit the jump for more about Fuller’s take on this version of Hannibal.

“It’s before he was incarcerated, so he’s more of a peacock. There is a cheery disposition to our Hannibal. He’s not being telegraphed as a villain. If the audience didn’t know who he was, they wouldn’t see him coming. What we have is Alfred Hitchcock’s principle of suspense — show the audience the bomb under the table and let them sweat when it’s going to go boom. So the audience knows who Hannibal is so we don’t have to overplay his villainy. We get to subvert his legacy and give the audience twists and turns.”

Starring alongside Mikkelsen is Hugh Dancy (King Arthur) as FBI profiler Will Graham, who enlists the help of Dr. Lecter for assistance in solving his crimes. In addition to Fuller, Martha De Laurentis (Red Dragon), Sara Colleton (Dexter) and Jesse Alexander (Lost) are serving as executive producers. The 13-episode series is likely to be part of NBC’s fall lineup.

More of Collider’s Hannibal coverage can be found here. If for some reason you’ve never seen The Silence of the Lambs, watch the trailer below.